Network Slice Selection Method, Radio Access Device, and Terminal

ABSTRACT

A network slice selection method, a radio access device, and a terminal, where the method includes obtaining, by a radio access network (RAN) device, network slice information, sending, by the RAN device, a first message to a terminal, where the first message includes the network slice information, receiving, by the RAN device, a first access request message from the terminal after the terminal selects, based on the network slice information, first attribute information of a first network slice to be accessed by the terminal, and selecting, by the RAN device based on the first attribute information of the first network slice, a second network slice to be accessed by the terminal. The method enables an operator to flexibly configure a network slice, and reduces a communication latency and signaling overheads in a process in which a terminal selects a network slice.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/383,856, filed on Jul. 23, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/325,088, filed on Feb. 12, 2019, now U.S.Pat. No. 11,115,908, which is a national stage of InternationalApplication No. PCT/CN2016/095042, filed on Aug. 12, 2016. All of theaforementioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by referencein their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field ofcommunications technologies, and in particular, to a network sliceselection method, a radio access device, and a terminal.

BACKGROUND

A fast developing mobile communications system needs to satisfy servicerequirements of a plurality of scenarios, for example, a mobilebroadband service (such as high-definition video), massive machinedevice communication, and highly-reliable mobile device communication(such as vehicle communication). To satisfy service requirements ofdifferent scenarios, a network may be divided into a plurality ofnetwork slices. Each slice is formed by deploying a plurality of logicalnetworks as independent service operations, where these logical networksshare a physical structure. Unlike slices in the case of deploying anindependent network structure, each slice herein should be implementedas a logical network, and the shared structure that is used includesshared processing, storage, and transmission, a shared radio spectrum,and a shared hardware platform. According to the network slice method,structure and part utilization becomes higher. In addition, because thephysical structure is shared, costs are reduced, and a slice can beflexibly and independently configured and managed, without affectingstability and security of other slices. However, if a network does notinclude a network slice identifier pre-allocated to a terminal, or doesnot include a network slice identifier pre-configured for a terminal, anetwork slice selection method is required for the terminal tosuccessfully access a network slice.

In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 1 , a terminal sends an accessrequest message to a core network (CN) by using a common radio accessnetwork (RAN) slice, where the request message carries descriptioninformation of service performance desired by the terminal. Afterreceiving the message, the CN verifies whether the terminal isauthorized to access the network slice. If the terminal is authorized toaccess a network slice, the CN selects an appropriate network sliceidentifier for the terminal based on a terminal type or a serviceperformance description information and network slice relatedinformation that are provided by the terminal. The terminal sends, to adesired RAN slice, a request message that carries the network sliceidentifier. A RAN selects a CN entity for the terminal, and then the RANsends an access request to the CN entity. A network slice on a CN partsends a response message to the terminal by using the RAN, so that theterminal is connected to the CN, and a user plane connection isestablished.

However, by using the foregoing method, the terminal first accesses a CNcommon slice and a RAN common slice, and then is directed to a mostappropriate network slice. This process increases a communicationlatency and signaling overheads.

SUMMARY

A network slice selection method, a radio access device, and a terminalprovided in embodiments of the present invention enable an operator toflexibly configure a network slice, and reduce a communication latencyand signaling overheads in a process in which a terminal selects anetwork slice.

According to a first aspect, a network slice selection method isprovided. The method includes: obtaining, by a radio access device RAN,network slice information (such as first identifier information of anetwork slice, key service attribute information of the network slice,information about a service supported by the network slice,authorization information of the network slice, core network loadinformation of the network slice, and coverage information of thenetwork slice); sending, by the RAN, a first message to a terminal,where the first message includes the network slice information;receiving, by the RAN, a first access request message that is sent bythe terminal after the terminal selects, based on the network sliceinformation, second attribute information (such as first identifierinformation ID of a network slice, and second identifier information anddedicated access resource information of the network slice) of a firstnetwork slice to be accessed by the terminal; and determining, by theRAN based on the second attribute information of the first networkslice, a second network slice to be accessed by the terminal. Anoperator is enabled to flexibly configure a network slice, and further,a communication latency and signaling overheads in a process in which aterminal selects a network slice.

In an optional implementation, the obtaining, by a radio access deviceRAN, network slice information specifically includes: obtaining, by theRAN, the network slice information from a core network CN or operation,administration and maintenance OAM, so that the operator is enabled toflexibly configure a network slice, and network slice information isobtained extensively.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thesending, by the RAN, a first message to a terminal, the method furtherincludes: determining, by the RAN, dedicated access resource informationof each network slice based on the second attribute information of theat least one network slice. The sending, by the RAN, a first message toa terminal specifically includes: sending, by the RAN, the first messageto the terminal, where the first message includes the second attributeinformation of the at least one network slice and the dedicated accessresource information of each network slice. The receiving, by the RAN, afirst access request message that is sent by the terminal after theterminal selects, based on the network slice information, firstattribute information of a first network slice to be accessed by theterminal specifically includes: receiving, by the RAN, the first accessrequest message that is sent by the terminal after the terminal selects,based on the second attribute information of the at least one networkslice and the dedicated access resource information of each networkslice, the first attribute information of the first network slice to beaccessed by the terminal. Because each network slice has correspondingdedicated access resource information, the terminal sends the firstaccess request message to the RAN on a dedicated resource based ondedicated access resource information of the first network slice, sothat the RAN quickly detects a network slice corresponding to a servicefunction requested by the terminal, where the first access requestmessage may include indication information (such as a preamble).According to the method, first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice of the core network may be prevented from being exposed ona radio interface, thereby improving security.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includesfirst identifier information of at least one network slice. The sending,by the RAN, a first message to a terminal specifically includes:sending, by the RAN, the first message to the terminal, where the firstmessage includes the first identifier information of the at least onenetwork slice. The receiving, by the RAN, a first access request messagethat is sent by the terminal after the terminal selects, based on thenetwork slice information, a first network slice to be accessed by theterminal specifically includes: receiving, by the RAN, the first accessrequest message that is sent by the terminal after the terminal selectsthe first attribute information of the first network slice based on thefirst identifier information of the at least one network slice, wherethe first access request message includes first identifier informationof the first network slice. By using the method, different networkslices are directly distinguished by using the first identifierinformation of the at least one network slice, and the RAN notifies, byusing an initial access response, the terminal of the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice, so that the firstattribute information of the at least one network slice of the corenetwork may be prevented from being exposed on a radio interface, andsecurity is improved.

In an optional implementation, before the sending, by the RAN, a firstmessage to a terminal, the method further includes: receiving, by theRAN, a third message sent by the terminal, where the third messageincludes indication information indicating that the terminal is toaccess the RAN; and sending, by the RAN, the first message to theterminal based on the indication information.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thesending, by the RAN, a first message to a terminal, the method furtherincludes: determining, by the RAN, dedicated access resource informationof the at least one network slice and common access resource informationof the at least one network slice based on the second attributeinformation of the at least one network slice; performing, by the RAN,preamble allocation on the network slice based on the common accessresource information of the network slice, to obtain information about anetwork slice group that is obtained through grouping, common accessresource information of the network slice group, and a preamblecorresponding to the common access resource information of the networkslice group; then sending, by the RAN, a fourth message to the terminal,where the fourth message includes the common access resource informationof the network slice group, the information about the network slicegroup, and the preamble corresponding to the common access resourceinformation of the network slice group; receiving, by the RAN, a fifthmessage sent by the terminal, where the fifth message includes apreamble of a network slice group that is to be accessed by the terminaland that is selected by the terminal based on the common access resourceinformation of the network slice group, the information about thenetwork slice group, and the preamble corresponding to the common accessresource information of the network slice group; and then, determining,by the RAN based on the preamble of the network slice group, the networkslice group selected by the terminal. The sending, by the RAN, a firstmessage to a terminal specifically includes: sending, by the RAN, thefirst message to the terminal based on the network slice group, wherethe first message includes dedicated access resource information of eachnetwork slice in the network slice group and second attributeinformation of each network slice in the network slice group. Thereceiving, by the RAN, a first access request message that is sent bythe terminal after the terminal selects, based on the network sliceinformation, first attribute information of a first network slice to beaccessed by the terminal specifically includes: receiving, by the RAN,the first access request message that is sent by the terminal after theterminal selects, based on the second attribute information of the atleast one network slice and the dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice, the first attribute information of the first networkslice to be accessed by the terminal and dedicated access resourceinformation of the first network slice. Because each network slice hascorresponding dedicated access resource information, the terminal sendsthe first access request message to the RAN on a dedicated resourcebased on the dedicated access resource information of the first networkslice, so that the RAN quickly detects a network slice corresponding toa service function requested by the terminal, where the first accessrequest message may include indication information (such as a preamble).

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thesending, by the RAN, a first message to a terminal, the method furtherincludes: determining, by the RAN, second identifier information of eachnetwork slice based on the second attribute information of the at leastone network slice. The sending, by the RAN, a first message to aterminal specifically includes: sending, by the RAN, the first messageto the terminal, where the first message includes the second identifierinformation of each network slice. The receiving, by the RAN, a firstaccess request message that is sent by the terminal after the terminalselects, based on the network slice information, first attributeinformation of a first network slice to be accessed by the terminalspecifically includes: receiving, by the RAN, the first access requestmessage that is sent by the terminal after the terminal selects secondidentifier information of the first network slice based on the secondidentifier information of the at least one network slice and the secondattribute information of the at least one network slice, where the firstaccess request message includes the second identifier information of thefirst network slice. By using the method, different network slices aredistinguished by using the second identifier information of the at leastone network slice, and the RAN notifies, by using an initial accessresponse, the terminal of the first attribute information of the atleast one network slice and the second identifier information of the atleast one network slice, so that the terminal selects a to-be-accessednetwork slice.

In an optional implementation, the determining, by the RAN based on thefirst attribute information of the first network slice, a second networkslice to be accessed by the terminal specifically includes: when radioresource information of a network slice supported by the RAN does notsatisfy a service function supported by the first attribute informationof the first network slice, sending, by the RAN, an access requestrejection message to the terminal; or selecting, by the RAN for theterminal, a second network slice with a service function the same asthat supported by the first attribute information of the first networkslice, where the first network slice is different from the secondnetwork slice; or when radio resource information of a network slicesupported by the RAN satisfies a service function supported by the firstattribute information of the first network slice, determining, by theRAN, the second network slice to be accessed by the terminal, where thefirst network slice is the same as the second network slice.

In an optional implementation, the first access request message furtherincludes attribute information of the terminal. The determining, by theRAN based on the attribute information of the first network slice, asecond network slice to be accessed by the terminal specificallyincludes: when the attribute information of the terminal does notsatisfy a service function supported by the first attribute informationof the first network slice, sending, by the RAN, an access requestrejection message to the terminal; or selecting, by the RAN for theterminal, a second network slice with a service function the same asthat supported by the first attribute information of the first networkslice, where the first network slice is different from the secondnetwork slice; or when the attribute information of the terminalsatisfies a service function supported by the attribute information ofthe first network slice, determining, by the RAN, the second networkslice to be accessed by the terminal, where the first network slice isthe same as the second network slice.

In an optional implementation, the method further includes: sending, bythe RAN, a second access request message to a CN, where the secondaccess request message includes first attribute information of thesecond network slice that is to be accessed by the terminal and that isdetermined by the RAN; receiving, by the RAN, a second access responsemessage that is sent by the CN based on second attribute information ofthe second network slice that is to be accessed by the terminal and thatis determined by the RAN; and sending, by the RAN, a first accessresponse message to the terminal, where the first access responsemessage includes the first attribute information of the second networkslice that is to be accessed by the terminal and that is selected by theCN, so that the terminal accesses the second network slice.

According to a second aspect, a network slice selection method isprovided. The method includes: receiving, by a terminal, a first messagesent by a RAN, where the first message includes network sliceinformation obtained by the RAN; selecting, by the terminal, firstattribute information of a to-be-accessed first network slice based onthe network slice information; and sending, by the terminal, a firstaccess request message to the RAN based on the first attributeinformation of the first network slice, so that the RAN determines asecond network slice to be accessed by the terminal, where the firstnetwork slice is the same as or different from the second network slice.An operator is enabled to flexibly configure a network slice, andfurther, a communication latency and signaling overheads in a process inwhich a terminal selects a network slice.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Thereceiving, by a terminal, a first message sent by a RAN specificallyincludes: receiving, by the terminal, the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes the second attribute information of theat least one network slice and dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice that is determined by the RAN based on the secondattribute information of the at least one network slice. The selecting,by the terminal, first attribute information of a to-be-accessed firstnetwork slice based on the network slice information specificallyincludes: selecting, by the terminal, dedicated access resourceinformation of the to-be-accessed first network slice based on thesecond attribute information of the at least one network slice and thededicated access resource information of each network slice. Thesending, by the terminal, a first access request message to the RANbased on the first attribute information of the first network slicespecifically includes: sending, by the terminal, the first accessrequest message to the RAN on a dedicated access resource of the firstnetwork slice based on the dedicated access resource information of thefirst network slice. Because each network slice has correspondingdedicated access resource information, the terminal sends the firstaccess request message to the RAN on the dedicated resource based on thededicated access resource information of the first network slice, sothat the RAN quickly detects a network slice corresponding to a servicefunction requested by the terminal, where the first access requestmessage may include indication information (such as a preamble).According to the method, first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice of a core network may be prevented from being exposed on aradio interface, thereby improving security.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includesfirst identifier information of at least one network slice. Thereceiving, by a terminal, a first message sent by a RAN specificallyincludes: receiving, by the terminal, the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes the first identifier information of theat least one network slice. The selecting, by the terminal, firstattribute information of a to-be-accessed first network slice based onthe network slice information specifically includes: selecting, by theterminal, first identifier information of the to-be-accessed firstnetwork slice based on the first identifier information of the at leastone network slice. The sending, by the terminal, a first access requestmessage to the RAN based on the first attribute information of the firstnetwork slice specifically includes: sending, by the terminal, the firstaccess request message to the RAN based on the first identifierinformation of the first network slice, where the first access requestmessage includes the first identifier information of the first networkslice.

In an optional implementation, before the receiving, by a terminal, afirst message sent by a RAN, the method further includes: sending, bythe terminal, a second message to the RAN, where the second messageincludes indication information indicating that the terminal is toaccess the RAN; and receiving, by the terminal, the first message thatis sent by the RAN based on the indication information.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thereceiving, by a terminal, a first message sent by a RAN, the methodfurther includes: receiving, by the terminal, a third message sent bythe RAN, where the third message includes common access resourceinformation of the at least one network slice and dedicated accessresource information of the at least one network slice that aredetermined by the RAN based on the second attribute information of theat least one network slice, and information about a network slice groupthat is obtained through grouping, common access resource information ofthe network slice group, and a preamble corresponding to the commonaccess resource information of the network slice group that are obtainedby the RAN by performing preamble allocation on the network slice basedon the common access resource information of the network slice;selecting, by the terminal, a to-be-accessed network slice group basedon the information about the network slice group, the common accessresource information of the network slice group, and the preamblecorresponding to the common access resource information of the networkslice group; and sending, by the terminal, a fourth message to the RAN,where the fourth message includes a preamble of the to-be-accessednetwork slice group. The receiving, by a terminal, a first message sentby a RAN specifically includes: receiving, by the terminal, the firstmessage that is sent by the RAN after the RAN determines the networkslice group based on the preamble of the network slice group, where thefirst message includes dedicated access resource information of eachnetwork slice in the network slice group and attribute information ofeach network slice in the network slice group. The selecting, by theterminal, first attribute information of a to-be-accessed first networkslice based on the network slice information specifically includes:selecting, by the terminal, dedicated access resource information of theto-be-accessed first network slice based on the dedicated accessresource information of each network slice in the network slice groupand the attribute information of each network slice in the network slicegroup. The sending, by the terminal, a first access request message tothe RAN based on the first attribute information of the first networkslice specifically includes: sending, by the terminal, the first accessrequest message to the RAN on a dedicated access resource of the firstnetwork slice based on the dedicated access resource information of thefirst network slice. Because each network slice has correspondingdedicated access resource information, the terminal sends the firstaccess request message to the RAN on the dedicated resource based on thededicated access resource information of the first network slice, sothat the RAN quickly detects a network slice corresponding to a servicefunction requested by the terminal, where the first access requestmessage may include indication information (such as a preamble).

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Thereceiving, by a terminal, a first message sent by a RAN specificallyincludes: receiving, by the terminal, the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes second identifier information of the atleast one network slice that is determined by the RAN based on thesecond attribute information of the at least one network slice. Theselecting, by the terminal, first attribute information of ato-be-accessed first network slice based on the network sliceinformation specifically includes: selecting, by the terminal, secondidentifier information of the to-be-accessed first network slice basedon the second identifier information of the at least one network slice.The sending, by the terminal, a first access request message to the RANbased on the first attribute information of the first network slicespecifically includes: sending, by the terminal, the first accessrequest message to the RAN based on the second identifier information ofthe first network slice, where the first access request message includesthe second identifier information of the first network slice. By usingthe method, different network slices are distinguished by using thesecond identifier information of the at least one network slice, and theRAN notifies, by using an initial access response, the terminal of thefirst attribute information of the at least one network slice and thesecond identifier information of the at least one network slice, so thatthe terminal selects a to-be-accessed network slice.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Theselecting, by the terminal, first attribute information of ato-be-accessed first network slice based on the network sliceinformation is specifically: selecting, by the terminal, the firstattribute information of the to-be-accessed first network slice from thesecond attribute information of the at least one network slice based onattribute information of the terminal.

In an optional implementation, the method further includes: receiving,by the terminal, a first access response message that is sent by the RANbased on first attribute information of the second network slice, wherethe first access response message includes the first attributeinformation of the second network slice that is to be accessed by theterminal and that is selected by a core network CN, so that the terminalaccesses the second network slice.

According to a third aspect, a radio access device is provided. Theradio access device may include: a processor, configured to obtainnetwork slice information; a transmitter, configured to send a firstmessage to a terminal, where the first message includes the networkslice information; and a receiver, configured to receive a first accessrequest message that is sent by the terminal after the terminal selects,based on the network slice information, first attribute information of afirst network slice to be accessed by the terminal, where the processoris configured to determine, based on the first attribute information ofthe first network slice, a second network slice to be accessed by theterminal.

In an optional implementation, the processor is specifically configuredto obtain the network slice information from a core network CN oroperation, administration and maintenance OAM.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thetransmitter sends the first message to the terminal, the processor isfurther configured to determine dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice based on the second attribute information of the atleast one network slice. The transmitter is specifically configured tosend, for the RAN, the first message to the terminal, where the firstmessage includes the second attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice and the dedicated access resource information of eachnetwork slice. The receiver is specifically configured to receive thefirst access request message that is sent by the terminal after theterminal selects, based on the second attribute information of the atleast one network slice and the dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice, the first attribute information of the first networkslice to be accessed by the terminal.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includesfirst identifier information of at least one network slice. Thetransmitter is specifically configured to send the first message to theterminal, where the first message includes the first identifierinformation of the at least one network slice. The receiver isspecifically configured to receive the first access request message thatis sent by the terminal after the terminal selects the first attributeinformation of the first network slice based on the first identifierinformation of the at least one network slice, where the first accessrequest message includes first identifier information of the firstnetwork slice.

In an optional implementation, before the transmitter sends the firstmessage to the terminal, the receiver is further configured to receive athird message sent by the terminal, where the third message includesindication information indicating that the terminal is to access theRAN; and the transmitter sends the first message to the terminal basedon the indication information.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thetransmitter sends the first message to the terminal, the processor isfurther configured to determine dedicated access resource information ofthe at least one network slice and common access resource information ofthe at least one network slice based on the second attribute informationof the at least one network slice; the processor is further configuredto perform preamble allocation on the network slice based on the commonaccess resource information of the network slice, to obtain informationabout a network slice group that is obtained through grouping, commonaccess resource information of the network slice group, and a preamblecorresponding to the common access resource information of the networkslice group; the transmitter is further configured to send a fourthmessage to the terminal, where the fourth message includes the commonaccess resource information of the network slice group, the informationabout the network slice group, and the preamble corresponding to thecommon access resource information of the network slice group; thereceiver is further configured to receive a fifth message sent by theterminal, where the fifth message includes a preamble of a network slicegroup that is to be accessed by the terminal and that is selected by theterminal based on the common access resource information of the networkslice group, the information about the network slice group, and thepreamble corresponding to the common access resource information of thenetwork slice group; and the processor is further configured todetermine, based on the preamble of the network slice group, the networkslice group selected by the terminal. The transmitter is specificallyconfigured to send the first message to the terminal based on thenetwork slice group, where the first message includes dedicated accessresource information of each network slice in the network slice groupand second attribute information of each network slice in the networkslice group. The receiver is specifically configured to receive thefirst access request message that is sent by the terminal after theterminal selects, based on the second attribute information of the atleast one network slice and the dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice, the first attribute information of the first networkslice to be accessed by the terminal and dedicated access resourceinformation of the first network slice.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thetransmitter sends the first message to the terminal, the processor isfurther configured to determine second identifier information of eachnetwork slice based on the second attribute information of the at leastone network slice. The transmitter is specifically configured to sendthe first message to the terminal, where the first message includes thesecond identifier information of each network slice. The receiver isspecifically configured to receive the first access request message thatis sent by the terminal after the terminal selects second identifierinformation of the first network slice based on the second identifierinformation of the at least one network slice and the second attributeinformation of the at least one network slice, where the first accessrequest message includes the second identifier information of the firstnetwork slice.

In an optional implementation, the processor is specifically configuredto: when radio resource information of a network slice supported by theRAN does not satisfy a service function supported by the first attributeinformation of the first network slice, the processor instructs thetransmitter to send an access request rejection message to the terminal;or the processor selects, for the terminal, a second network slice witha service function the same as that supported by the first attributeinformation of the first network slice, where the first network slice isdifferent from the second network slice; or when radio resourceinformation of a network slice supported by the RAN satisfies a servicefunction supported by the first attribute information of the firstnetwork slice, the processor determines the second network slice to beaccessed by the terminal, where the first network slice is the same asthe second network slice.

In an optional implementation, the first access request message furtherincludes attribute information of the terminal. The processor isspecifically configured to: when the attribute information of theterminal does not satisfy a service function supported by the firstattribute information of the first network slice, the processorinstructs the transmitter to send an access request rejection message tothe terminal; or the processor selects, for the terminal, a secondnetwork slice with a service function the same as that supported by thefirst attribute information of the first network slice, where the firstnetwork slice is different from the second network slice; or when theattribute information of the terminal satisfies a service functionsupported by the attribute information of the first network slice, theprocessor determines the second network slice to be accessed by theterminal, where the first network slice is the same as the secondnetwork slice.

In an optional implementation, the transmitter is further configured tosend a second access request message to a CN, where the second accessrequest message includes first attribute information of the secondnetwork slice that is to be accessed by the terminal and that isdetermined by the processor; the receiver is further configured toreceive a second access response message that is sent by the CN based onsecond attribute information of the second network slice that is to beaccessed by the terminal and that is determined by the processor; andthe transmitter is further configured to send a first access responsemessage to the terminal, where the first access response messageincludes the first attribute information of the second network slicethat is to be accessed by the terminal and that is selected by the CN,so that the terminal accesses the second network slice.

According to a fourth aspect, a computer storage medium is provided. Thecomputer storage medium is configured to store a computer softwareinstruction used by the foregoing terminal. The computer softwareinstruction includes a program designed for executing the foregoingaspects.

According to a fifth aspect, a terminal is provided. The terminal mayinclude: a receiver, configured to receive a first message sent by aRAN, where the first message includes network slice information obtainedby the RAN; a processor, configured to select first attributeinformation of a to-be-accessed first network slice based on the networkslice information received by the receiver; and a transmitter,configured to send a first access request message to the RAN based onthe first attribute information of the first network slice selected bythe processor, so that the RAN determines a second network slice to beaccessed by the terminal.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. The receiveris specifically configured to receive the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes the second attribute information of theat least one network slice and dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice that is determined by the RAN based on the secondattribute information of the at least one network slice. The processoris specifically configured to select dedicated access resourceinformation of the to-be-accessed first network slice based on thesecond attribute information of the at least one network slice and thededicated access resource information of each network slice. Thetransmitter is specifically configured to send the first access requestmessage to the RAN on a dedicated access resource of the first networkslice based on the dedicated access resource information of the firstnetwork slice.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includesfirst identifier information of at least one network slice. The receiveris specifically configured to receive the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes the first identifier information of theat least one network slice. The processor is specifically configured toselect first identifier information of the to-be-accessed first networkslice based on the first identifier information of the at least onenetwork slice. The transmitter is specifically configured to send thefirst access request message to the RAN based on the first identifierinformation of the first network slice, where the first access requestmessage includes the first identifier information of the first networkslice.

In an optional implementation, before the receiver receives the firstmessage sent by the RAN, the transmitter is further configured to send asecond message to the RAN, where the second message includes indicationinformation indicating that the terminal is to access the RAN; and thereceiver is further configured to receive the first message that is sentby the RAN based on the indication information.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Before thereceiver receives the first message sent by the RAN, the receiver isfurther configured to receive a third message sent by the RAN, where thethird message includes common access resource information of the atleast one network slice and dedicated access resource information of theat least one network slice that are determined by the RAN based on thesecond attribute information of the at least one network slice, andinformation about a network slice group that is obtained throughgrouping, common access resource information of the network slice group,and a preamble corresponding to the common access resource informationof the network slice group that are obtained by the RAN by performingpreamble allocation on the network slice based on the common accessresource information of the network slice; the processor is furtherconfigured to select a to-be-accessed network slice group based on theinformation about the network slice group, the common access resourceinformation of the network slice group, and the preamble correspondingto the common access resource information of the network slice group;and the transmitter is further configured to send a fourth message tothe RAN, where the fourth message includes a preamble of theto-be-accessed network slice group. The receiver is specificallyconfigured to receive the first message that is sent by the RAN afterthe RAN determines the network slice group based on the preamble of thenetwork slice group, where the first message includes dedicated accessresource information of each network slice in the network slice groupand attribute information of each network slice in the network slicegroup. The processor is specifically configured to select dedicatedaccess resource information of the to-be-accessed first network slicebased on the dedicated access resource information of each network slicein the network slice group and the attribute information of each networkslice in the network slice group. The transmitter is specificallyconfigured to send the first access request message to the RAN on adedicated access resource of the first network slice based on thededicated access resource information of the first network slice.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. The receiveris specifically configured to receive the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes second identifier information of the atleast one network slice that is determined by the RAN based on thesecond attribute information of the at least one network slice. Theprocessor is specifically configured to select second identifierinformation of the to-be-accessed first network slice based on thesecond identifier information of the at least one network slice. Thetransmitter is specifically configured to send the first access requestmessage to the RAN based on the second identifier information of thefirst network slice, where the first access request message includes thesecond identifier information of the first network slice.

In an optional implementation, the network slice information includessecond attribute information of at least one network slice. Theprocessor is specifically configured to select the first attributeinformation of the to-be-accessed first network slice from the secondattribute information of the at least one network slice based onattribute information of the terminal.

In an optional implementation, the receiver is further configured toreceive a first access response message that is sent by the RAN based onfirst attribute information of the second network slice, where the firstaccess response message includes the first attribute information of thesecond network slice that is to be accessed by the terminal and that isselected by a core network CN, so that the terminal accesses the secondnetwork slice.

According to still another aspect, a computer storage medium isprovided. The computer storage medium is configured to store a computersoftware instruction used by the foregoing terminal. The computersoftware instruction includes a program designed for executing theforegoing aspects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice selectionsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic structural diagram of a model of a RAN;

FIG. 2B is a schematic structural diagram of another model of a RAN;

FIG. 2C is a schematic structural diagram of still another model of aRAN;

FIG. 3 is a signaling interaction diagram of a network slice selectionmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a signaling interaction diagram of obtaining, by a RAN,network slice information according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4B is another signaling interaction diagram of obtaining, by a RAN,network slice information according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a signaling interaction diagram of another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 6 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 7 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 8 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 9 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 10 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another networkslice selection method shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a radio access deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another radio access deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following further describes the technical solutions of the presentinvention in detail with reference to accompanying drawings andembodiments.

A network slice selection method provided in the present invention maybe applicable to a Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE)system, or other radio communications systems using various radio accesstechnologies, for example, a system using an access technology such asCode Division Multiple Access, Frequency Division Multiple Access, TimeDivision Multiple Access, orthogonal frequency division multiple access,or single carrier frequency division multiple access, and may also beapplicable to a system subsequently evolved from the LTE system, such asa 5th generation 5G system. In addition, the network slice selectionmethod may also be applicable to a WLAN system.

A system framework shown in FIG. 1 may include a terminal, a radioaccess device (Radio Access Network, RAN), and a core network. The RANis configured to provide various types of terminals with mobilitymanagement, link management, and handover management. The terminal isconnected to the core network by using the RAN. The core network isconfigured to control a process in which the terminal establishes acommunications service.

Optionally, the system framework may further include an operation,administration and maintenance (Operation Administration andMaintenance, OAM) device, and an operator may perform informationconfiguration on the RAN and/or the core network by using the OAM devicedepending on a design requirement.

The terminal may be referred to as user equipment (User Equipment, UE),a mobile station (Mobile Station, MS), a mobile terminal (mobileterminal), a computer, a microcomputer, or the like, or may be a 5Gterminal. For example, the terminal may be a mobile phone (or referredto as a “cellular” phone), a mobile computer, a computer with a mobileterminal, or a smartwatch. For example, the terminal may alternativelybe a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer built-in, or in-vehiclemobile apparatus, which exchanges voice and/or data with the radioaccess device. The present invention sets no limitation thereto. Forexample, the terminal further includes a wired access terminal that hasa multi-carrier feature.

The core network includes but is not limited to a core network (CoreNetwork, CN) in the LTE system, a 5G core network, and a next-generationcore network. The core network may include a plurality of networkslices. Each slice serves a particular service. The network slicesinclude, for example, an emergency machine type communication (MachineType Communication, MTC) slice, a massive machine type communication(Machine Type Communication, MTC) slice, and a mobile broadband (MobileBroad Band, MBB) slice. The emergency MTC slice may serve a service(such as a pilotless automobile service) with a low latency and a smalldata amount. The massive MTC slice serves a large quantity oflatency-tolerant services (such as sensor or wearable device services)that have a small data amount and that are not subject to frequentaccess. The MBB slice is used for a service (such as a high-definitionmovie service) that has a high data rate and high mobility.

The radio access device RAN includes but is not limited to an evolvedNodeB (evolved NodeB, eNB), a home evolved NodeB (Home evolved NodeB,HeNB), a relay relay, a home NodeB Femto, a micro base station Pico, anda 5G base station. The RAN and the core network may exchange networkslice information through signaling transmission. From a perspective ofa composition structure, the RAN may include a physical layer, a layer2, and an RRC layer. The layer 2 may include a Media Access Control(Medium Access Control, MAC) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol(Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer, and a Radio Link Control(Radio Link Control, RLC) layer. From a perspective of access resourceinformation, the RAN may include three models for supporting the networkslices of the core network. Access information may include a physicallayer access resource, a MAC layer access function, and an RRC layeraccess function. The three models may be as follows.

Model 1: Physical layer access resources, layer 2 access functions, andRadio Resource Control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) layer accessfunctions of different network slices are completely separated, namely,access information of different network slices is completely separatedon the RAN. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the core network includes twodifferent network slices, the RAN includes access resources or functionscorresponding to the two different network slices.

Model 2: Physical layer access resources of different network slices areshared, and layer 2 access functions and RRC layer access functions arecompletely separated, namely, different network slices share partialaccess information. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the core network includestwo different network slices, the RAN not only includes access resourcesor functions corresponding to the two different network slices, but alsoincludes an access resource or function shared by the two differentnetwork slices.

It may be understood that, in model 2, access resources/functions may bedivided into two phases, where an access resource/function of a phase 1is shared by all slices (such as a random access channel (Random AccessChannel, RACH) resource in LTE); and an access resource/function of aphase 2 is dedicated to each slice.

Model 3: Physical layer access resources, layer 2 access functions, andRRC layer access functions of different network slices are completelyshared, namely, different network slices completely share accessinformation. As shown in FIG. 2C, when the core network includes twodifferent network slices, the RAN includes an access resource orfunction shared by the two different network slices.

It can be learned that, in FIG. 1 , various types of terminals accessdifferent core network slices by using different models of the RAN, sothat the core network finally controls the terminals to performparticular communications services.

FIG. 3 is a signaling interaction diagram of a network slice selectionmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 3 , the method may include the following steps.

Step 310: A radio access device RAN obtains network slice information.

Optionally, the radio access device RAN may obtain the network sliceinformation from a core network CN or operation, administration andmaintenance OAM in the following manners.

The RAN may obtain the network slice information in the followingmanners.

In a first manner, the RAN obtains the network slice information fromthe CN.

As shown in FIG. 4A, in a connection setup process between the RAN andthe CN, the RAN sends a setup request message to the CN, where the setuprequest message may include a RAN capability for slice support IE (RANcapability for slice support IE), and the CN sends a setup requestresponse message to the RAN, where the setup request response messagemay include at least one piece of network slice information, so that theRAN obtains the network slice information.

As shown in FIG. 4B, in a configuration update process, the CN sends aconfiguration update message to the RAN, where the configuration updatemessage may include at least one piece of network slice informationmodified by the CN, so that the RAN obtains the network sliceinformation.

In a second manner, the RAN obtains the network slice information fromthe OAM device.

When the RAN starts, in a configuration update process, the OAM devicemay send a configuration message to the RAN, where the configurationmessage may include at least one piece of network slice information, sothat the RAN obtains the network slice information. It should be notedthat, the OAM device may configure, depending on a design requirement ofan operator, the network slice information sent to the RAN. In otherwords, a process in which the RAN obtains the network slice informationfrom the OAM device is operator-configurable to some extent.

The network slice information may include first attribute information ofat least one network slice. First attribute information of a networkslice may include one or more of the following: first identifierinformation (Identification, ID) of the network slice, key serviceattribute information of the network slice, information about a servicesupported by the network slice, authorization information of the networkslice, core network load information of the network slice, coverageinformation of the network slice, and the like.

Using three network slice as an example, key service attributes of thenetwork slices may include: enhanced machine type communication(Enhanced Machine Type Communication, eMBB) of a network slice 1,Enhanced Mobile BroadBand (Enhanced Mobile Broad Band, eMTC) of anetwork slice 2, and Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications(Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications, URLLC), vehiclecommunication (Vehicle to X, V2X), or the like of a network slice 3.

The service supported by the network slice may include indicatingquality of service (Quality of Service, QoS), a quality of service classidentifier (QoS Class Identifier, QCI), or the like of a service.

The authorization information of the network slice may includeinformation about access permission of the core network for a servicefunction of the terminal.

The core network load information of the network slice may include loadinformation of each network slice on the core network.

The coverage information of the network slice may include coverage areainformation during service execution of the network slice.

It should be noted that, the foregoing two manners do not constitute alimitation on how the RAN obtains a network slice, and the RAN mayalternatively obtain the network slice information in another manner,for example, obtain the network slice information from the OAM device ina network optimization manner.

Optionally, in a process in which the RAN obtains the network sliceinformation, if an access resource or function of the RAN cannot satisfya requirement of at least one network slice provided by the CN, the RANmay select to support only some network slices of the CN. For example,the RAN may select, based on priorities of network slices provided bythe CN, a network slice supported by the access resource or function ofthe RAN.

The RAN may indicate, through signaling transmission (such as aconfiguration update response message), a network slice that currentlycan be supported by the RAN, and add modified network slice informationto a system message or an access response message.

Step 320: The RAN sends a first message to a terminal, where the firstmessage may include the network slice information.

The RAN sends the first message to the terminal, where the first messagemay be a broadcast system message, or an access response message, andthe system message or the access response message carries the obtainednetwork slice information, so that the terminal obtains the networkslice information. The network slice information may include the firstattribute information of the at least one network slice.

Step 330: The terminal selects, based on the network slice informationsent by the RAN, second attribute information of a to-be-accessed firstnetwork slice.

The terminal selects the second attribute information of theto-be-accessed first network slice from the first attribute informationof the at least one network slice in the network slice information basedon attribute information of the terminal (such as service information,radio resource information, and mobility information of the terminal).

The second attribute information of the first network slice may be thesame as or different from the first attribute information of the networkslice. The second attribute information of the first network slice mayinclude but be not limited to first identifier information ID of thenetwork slice, second identifier information of the network slice (suchas a preamble of the network slice, a signal of the network slice, and asequence of the network slice), and dedicated access resourceinformation.

The terminal may select the second attribute information of the firstnetwork slice in the following aspects.

In an aspect of a service, the terminal may select first attributeinformation, of a network slice, that is corresponding to a networkslice matching the service information of the terminal as the secondattribute information of the to-be-accessed first network slice.

In an aspect of a radio resource, when different network slices haveindividual radio resources, the terminal may select first attributeinformation, of a network slice, that is corresponding to a networkslice with best radio quality as the second attribute information of theto-be-accessed first network slice; or select first attributeinformation, of a network slice, that is corresponding to a networkslice with radio quality exceeding a specific threshold as the secondattribute information of the to-be-accessed first network slice.

When core network load information of each network slice is provided inthe network slice information received by the terminal, the terminal mayselect first attribute information, of a network slice, that iscorresponding to a network slice with relatively low load as the secondattribute information of the to-be-accessed first network slice.

When authorization information of each network slice is provided in thenetwork slice information received by the terminal, the terminal mayselect first attribute information, of a network slice, that iscorresponding to an authorized network slice as the second attributeinformation of the to-be-accessed first network slice.

When coverage information of each network slice is provided in thenetwork slice information received by the terminal, the terminal mayselect, by considering mobility of the terminal, first attributeinformation, of a network slice, that is corresponding to a networkslice as the second attribute information of the to-be-accessed firstnetwork slice. For example, when the terminal moves at a high speed, theterminal may select a network slice with a large coverage; or when theterminal moves at a low speed, the terminal may select a network slicewith a small coverage.

It should be noted that, for each of the foregoing aspects, the terminalmay determine a capability of each aspect by using a weight. The weightmay be pre-configured by the terminal, or may be sent by the RAN or theCN to the terminal.

Step 340: The terminal sends a first access request message to the RAN.

The first access request message may include the second attributeinformation of the first network slice to be accessed by the terminal,or may include indication information (such as a preamble) of a cellcovered by the RAN. The first access request message may be an RRCconnection request (RRC connection request) message or an RRC connectionsetup complete (RRC connection setup complete) message.

Optionally, the first access request message may further include theattribute information of the terminal, such as a service, a radioresource, and mobility of the terminal, so that the RAN quickly selectsa network slice.

Step 350: The RAN determines, based on the second attribute informationof the first network slice, a second network slice to be accessed by theterminal.

The RAN performs selection and judgment on the second attributeinformation of the first network slice, to determine the second networkslice to be accessed by the terminal.

Optionally, when the RAN performs selection and judgment on the secondattribute information of the first network slice, the second networkslice to be accessed by the terminal may alternatively be determined byusing radio resource information of a network slice supported by the RAN(such as radio resource load of the network slice supported by the RAN).

When the radio resource information of the network slice supported bythe RAN does not satisfy a service function requirement supported by thesecond attribute information of the first network slice, the RAN sends afirst access request rejection message to the terminal, so that theterminal re-selects attribute information of the first network slice; orthe RAN selects, for the terminal, a second network slice with a servicefunction the same as that supported by the second attribute informationof the first network slice, where the first network slice is differentfrom the second network slice.

When the attribute information of the network slice supported by the RANsatisfies a service function requirement supported by the secondattribute information of the first network slice, the RAN determines thesecond network slice to be accessed by the terminal, where the firstnetwork slice is the same as the second network slice.

Optionally, when the RAN performs selection and judgment on the secondattribute information of the first network slice, the second networkslice to be accessed by the terminal may alternatively be determined byconsidering the attribute information of the terminal (such as theservice, the radio resource, and the mobility of the terminal).

When the attribute information of the terminal does not satisfy aservice function requirement supported by the second attributeinformation of the first network slice, the RAN sends a first accessrequest rejection message to the terminal, so that the terminalre-selects attribute information of the first network slice; or the RANselects, for the terminal, a second network slice with a servicefunction the same as that supported by the second attribute informationof the first network slice, where the first network slice is differentfrom the second network slice.

When the attribute information of the terminal satisfies a servicefunction requirement supported by the second attribute information ofthe first network slice, the RAN determines the second network slice tobe accessed by the terminal, where the first network slice is the sameas the second network slice.

It should be noted that, when the RAN performs selection and judgment onthe second attribute information of the first network slice, the secondnetwork slice to be accessed by the terminal may be determined byseparately using the radio resource information of the network slicesupported by the RAN and the attribute information of the terminal, ormay be determined by using both the radio resource information of thenetwork slice supported by the RAN and the attribute information of theterminal. Further, another factor may be added depending on a designrequirement.

Step 360: The RAN sends a second access request message to a corenetwork, where the second access request message includes secondattribute information of the second network slice that is to be accessedby the terminal and that is determined by the RAN.

Optionally, the core network may perform permission judgment on arequest of the terminal. If the core network has a permission limitationon an access request of the terminal, the core network sends a secondaccess request rejection message to the RAN. In this case, the RAN mayselect, for the terminal, a second network slice with a service functionthe same as that supported by the second attribute information of thefirst network slice, or may send the first access request rejectionmessage to the terminal, so that the terminal re-selects secondattribute information of the first network slice.

Step 370: The RAN receives a second access response message that is sentby the CN based on the second attribute information of the secondnetwork slice that is to be accessed by the terminal and that isdetermined by the RAN.

Step 380: The RAN sends a first access response message to the terminal,where the first access response message includes the second attributeinformation of the second network slice that is to be accessed by theterminal and that is selected by the CN, so that the terminal accessesthe second network slice.

According to the network slice selection method provided in thisembodiment of the present invention, the radio access device RAN obtainsthe network slice information; then the RAN sends the first message tothe terminal, where the first message includes the network sliceinformation; the RAN receives the first access request message that issent by the terminal after the terminal selects, based on the networkslice information, the first attribute information of the first networkslice to be accessed by the terminal; and the RAN determines, based onthe first attribute information of the first network slice, the secondnetwork slice to be accessed by the terminal, where the first networkslice is the same as or different from the second network slice. Themethod enables an operator to flexibly configure a network slice, andfurther reduces a communication latency and signaling overheads in aprocess in which a terminal selects a network slice.

The following specifically describes methods for selecting a secondnetwork slice of a core network based on different models of a RAN byusing an example in which a RAN obtains a network information slice froma core network CN.

FIG. 5 is a signaling interaction diagram of another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the method isapplied to a mode 2 of a RAN. The method may include the followingsteps.

Step 510: The radio access device RAN obtains first attributeinformation of at least one network slice from a core network CN.

Step 520: The RAN sends a first message to a terminal, where the firstmessage may include the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

Optionally, before the RAN sends the first message to the terminal, theRAN determines dedicated access resource information of each networkslice based on the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice. The RAN sends a system message to the terminal, where thesystem message may include indication information (such as a preamble)of a cell covered by the RAN.

The terminal sends a second message (such as an initial access requestmessage) to the RAN on a common resource, where the second message mayinclude indication information (such as a preamble), to indicate thatthe terminal is to access the RAN.

That the RAN sends a first message to a terminal in step 520 isspecifically: sending, by the RAN, the first message to the terminal onthe common resource based on the received second message, where thefirst message may include the first attribute information of the atleast one network slice and the dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice, and the first message may be an initial accessresponse message.

Step 530: The terminal selects dedicated access resource information ofa to-be-accessed first network slice based on the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects the dedicated resource information of theto-be-accessed first network slice from the first attribute informationof the at least one network slice and the dedicated access resourceinformation of each network slice based on attribute information of theterminal, such as a service, a radio resource, and mobility of theterminal.

Step 540: The terminal sends a first access request message to the RANbased on the dedicated access resource information of the first networkslice.

Because each network slice has corresponding dedicated access resourceinformation, the terminal sends the first access request message to theRAN on a dedicated resource based on the dedicated access resourceinformation of the first network slice, so that the RAN quickly detectsa network slice corresponding to a service function requested by theterminal, where the first access request message may include indicationinformation (such as a preamble). Optionally, the first access requestmessage may further include the attribute information of the terminal,such as the service, the radio resource, and the mobility of theterminal, so that the RAN quickly selects a network slice.

It should be noted that, subsequent step 550 to step 580 are the same asstep 350 to step 380, and details are not described herein again.

The foregoing embodiment provided in the present invention is applied tomodel 2 with partially shared access resource information. The RANdetermines the dedicated resource information of the at least onenetwork slice based on the first attribute information of the at leastone network slice, and distinguishes different network slices by usingthe dedicated resource information of the at least one network slice,and the RAN notifies, by using an initial access response, the terminalof the dedicated resource information of the at least one network slice,so that the terminal selects a to-be-accessed network slice. In thisembodiment, the first attribute information of the at least one networkslice of the core network may be prevented from being exposed on a radiointerface, thereby improving security.

FIG. 6 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 6 , the method isapplied to a mode 3 of a RAN. The method may include the followingsteps.

Step 610: The radio access device RAN obtains first attributeinformation of at least one network slice from a core network CN.

Step 620: The RAN sends a first message to a terminal, where the firstmessage may include the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

Optionally, before the RAN sends the first message to the terminal, theRAN sends a system message to the terminal, to send, to the terminal,indication information (such as a preamble) of a cell covered by theRAN.

The terminal sends a second message (such as an initial access requestmessage) to the RAN on a common resource, where the second message mayinclude indication information (such as a preamble), to indicate thatthe terminal is to access the RAN.

That the RAN sends a first message to a terminal is specifically:sending, by the RAN, the first message to the terminal based on thereceived second message, where the first message includes the firstattribute information of the at least one network slice, and firstattribute information of a network slice may be first identifierinformation of the network slice.

Step 630: The terminal selects first identifier information of ato-be-accessed first network slice based on the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects the first identifier information of theto-be-accessed first network slice based on first identifier informationof the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects the first identifier information of theto-be-accessed first network slice from the first identifier informationof the at least one network slice based on attribute information of theterminal, such as a service, a radio resource, and mobility of theterminal.

Step 640: The terminal sends a first access request message to the RAN,where the first access request message includes the first identifierinformation of the first network slice.

The terminal sends the first access request message to the RAN on thecommon resource, where the first access request message may include thefirst identifier information of the first network slice.

Optionally, the first access request message may further include theattribute information of the terminal, such as the service, the radioresource, and the mobility of the terminal, so that the RAN quicklyselects a network slice.

It should be noted that, subsequent step 650 to step 680 are the same asstep 350 to step 380, and details are not described herein again.

The foregoing embodiment provided in the present invention is applied tomodel 3 with completely shared access resource information. Differentnetwork slices are directly distinguished by using the first identifierinformation of the at least one network slice, and the RAN notifies, byusing an initial access response, the terminal of the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice, so that the firstattribute information of the at least one network slice of the corenetwork may be prevented from being exposed on a radio interface, andsecurity is improved.

FIG. 7 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 7 , the method isapplied to a mode 2 of a RAN. The method may include the followingsteps.

Step 710: The radio access device RAN obtains first attributeinformation of at least one network slice from a core network CN.

Step 720: The RAN sends a first message to a terminal, where the firstmessage may include the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

Optionally, before the RAN sends the first message to the terminal, theRAN determines dedicated access resource information of the at least onenetwork slice and common access resource information of the at least onenetwork slice based on the first attribute information of the at leastone network slice.

The RAN groups the at least one network slice based on the common accessresource information of the network slice, to obtain a network slicegroup. The RAN performs preamble allocation on the network slice group,to obtain information of the network slice group that is obtainedthrough grouping, common access resource information of the networkslice group, and a preamble corresponding to the common access resourceinformation of the network slice group.

In an example, the RAN groups 10 network slices into two groups based oncommon access resource information of the network slices, where eachgroup has the same common access resource information, and each groupincludes five network slices. The RAN performs preamble allocation onthe two network slice groups, where each group has a group of preambles.It may be understood that five network slices in each group haverespective dedicated access resource information.

Optionally, the RAN sends a second message to the terminal, where thesecond message may include the common access resource information of thenetwork slice group, the information about the network slice group, andthe preamble corresponding to the common access resource information ofthe network slice group, and the second message may be broadcast systeminformation.

The terminal selects a to-be-accessed network slice group based on thecommon access resource information of the network slice group, theinformation about the network slice group, and the preamblecorresponding to the common access resource information of the networkslice group that are received.

The terminal sends a third message to the RAN, where the third messagemay include a preamble of the to-be-accessed network slice group.

The RAN determines, based on the received preamble of the network slicegroup, the network slice group selected by the terminal.

That the RAN sends a first message to a terminal specifically includes:sending, by the RAN, the first message to the terminal based on thenetwork slice group, where the first message includes dedicated accessresource information of each network slice in the network slice groupand first attribute information of each network slice in the networkslice group.

Step 730: The terminal selects dedicated access resource information ofa to-be-accessed first network slice based on the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects, based on attribute information of the terminal,such as a service, a radio resource, and mobility of the terminal, thededicated access resource information of the to-be-accessed firstnetwork slice from the dedicated access resource information of eachnetwork slice and the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

Step 740: The terminal sends a first access request message to the RANbased on the dedicated access resource information of the first networkslice.

Because each network slice has corresponding dedicated access resourceinformation, the terminal sends the first access request message to theRAN on a dedicated resource based on the dedicated access resourceinformation of the first network slice, so that the RAN quickly detectsa network slice corresponding to a service function requested by theterminal, where the first access request message may include indicationinformation (such as a preamble).

Optionally, the first access request message may further include theattribute information of the terminal, such as the service, the radioresource, and the mobility of the terminal, so that the RAN quicklyselects a network slice.

It should be noted that, subsequent step 750 to step 780 are the same asstep 350 to step 380, and details are not described herein again.

According to the foregoing embodiment provided in the present invention,dedicated access resource information used by the terminal is used toindicate the dedicated access resource information of the first networkslice selected by the terminal. The network slice information is groupedon a RAN side; a common part of dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice group is determined, namely, common access resourceinformation is obtained; and a special part for each network slice isdetermined, namely, dedicated access resource information is obtained.The RAN groups preambles based on the common access resource informationof the network slices, where each group of preambles is corresponding tocommon access resource information of one network slice group. The RANsends, to the terminal based on the network slice group that is selectedby the terminal and that is corresponding to the common access resourceinformation, the dedicated access resource information of each networkslice in the network slice group and the first attribute information ofeach network slice, so that the terminal selects a to-be-accessednetwork slice.

FIG. 8 is a signaling interaction diagram of another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 . The method is applied to a mode 3 ofa RAN. As shown in FIG. 8 , the method may include the following steps.

Step 810: The radio access device RAN obtains first attributeinformation of at least one network slice from a core network CN.

Step 820: The RAN sends a first message to a terminal, where the firstmessage may include the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

First attribute information of a network slice may be first identifierinformation of the network slice.

Step 830: The terminal selects first identifier information of ato-be-accessed first network slice based on the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects the first identifier information of theto-be-accessed first network slice based on the first identifierinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects, based on attribute information of the terminal,such as a service, a radio resource, and mobility of the terminal,attribute information of the to-be-accessed first network slice from thefirst identifier information of the at least one network slice, wherethe attribute information may be the first identifier information of thefirst network slice.

Step 840: The terminal sends a first access request message to the RAN,where the first access request message includes the first identifierinformation of the first network slice.

The terminal sends the first access request message to the RAN on acommon resource, where the first access request message may include thefirst identifier information of the first network slice.

Optionally, the first access request message may further include theattribute information of the terminal, such as the service, the radioresource, and the mobility of the terminal, so that the RAN quicklyselects a network slice.

It should be noted that, subsequent step 850 to step 880 are the same asstep 350 to step 380, and details are not described herein again.

The foregoing embodiment provided in the present invention is applied tomodel 3 with completely shared access resource information. Differentnetwork slices are directly distinguished by using the first identifierinformation of the at least one network slice, and the RAN notifies, byusing an initial access response, the terminal of the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice, so that the terminalselects a to-be-accessed network slice.

FIG. 9 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another network sliceselection method shown in FIG. 3 . The method is applied to a mode 1 ofa RAN. As shown in FIG. 9 , the method may include the following steps.

Step 910: The radio access device RAN obtains first attributeinformation of at least one network slice from a core network CN.

Step 920: The RAN sends a first message to a terminal, where the firstmessage may include the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

Optionally, before the RAN sends the first message to the terminal, theRAN determines dedicated access resource information of each networkslice based on the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

That the RAN sends a first message to a terminal in step 920 isspecifically: sending, by the RAN, the first message to the terminal,where the first message may include the dedicated access resourceinformation of each network slice and the first attribute information ofthe at least one network slice, and the first message may be a systemmessage.

Step 930: The terminal selects dedicated resource information of ato-be-accessed first network slice based on the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects the dedicated resource information of theto-be-accessed first network slice from the first attribute informationof the at least one network slice and the dedicated access resourceinformation of each network slice based on attribute information of theterminal, such as a service, a radio resource, and mobility of theterminal.

Step 940: The terminal sends a first access request message to the RANbased on the dedicated access resource information of the first networkslice.

Because each network slice has corresponding dedicated access resourceinformation, the terminal sends the first access request message to theRAN on a dedicated resource based on the dedicated access resourceinformation of the first network slice, so that the RAN quickly detectsa network slice corresponding to a service function requested by theterminal, where the first access request message may include indicationinformation (such as a preamble).

Optionally, the first access request message may further include theattribute information of the terminal, such as the service, the radioresource, and the mobility of the terminal. It should be noted that,subsequent steps are the same as step 350 to step 380, and details arenot described herein again.

The foregoing embodiment provided in the present invention is applied tomodel 1 with completely separated access resource information. The RANdetermines the dedicated resource information of the at least onenetwork slice based on the first attribute information of the at leastone network slice, and distinguishes different network slices by usingthe dedicated resource information of the at least one network slice,and the RAN notifies, by using an initial access response, the terminalof the dedicated resource information of the at least one network slice,so that the terminal selects a to-be-accessed network slice.

FIG. 10 is a signaling interaction diagram of still another networkslice selection method shown in FIG. 3 . The method is applied to a mode3 of a RAN. As shown in FIG. 10 , the method may include the followingsteps.

Step 1010: The radio access device RAN obtains first attributeinformation of at least one network slice from a core network CN.

Step 1020: The RAN sends a first message to a terminal, where the firstmessage may include the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

Optionally, before the RAN sends the first message to the terminal, theRAN determines second identifier information of the at least one networkslice based on the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice.

That the RAN sends a first message to a terminal specifically includes:sending, by the RAN, the first message to the terminal, where the firstmessage may include the second identifier information of the at leastone network slice and the first attribute information of the at leastone network slice, and the first message may be a system message.

Step 1030: The terminal selects second identifier information of ato-be-accessed first network slice based on the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects the second identifier information of theto-be-accessed first network slice based on the second identifierinformation of the at least one network slice and the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice.

The terminal selects, based on attribute information of the terminal,such as a service, a radio resource, and mobility of the terminal,second attribute information of the to-be-accessed first network slicefrom the second identifier information of the at least one networkslice, where the attribute information may be the second identifierinformation of the first network slice.

Step 1040: The terminal sends a first access request message to the RAN,where the first access request message includes the second identifierinformation of the first network slice.

The terminal sends the first access request message to the RAN on acommon resource, where the first access request message may include thesecond identifier information of the first network slice.

Optionally, the first access request message may further include theattribute information of the terminal, such as the service, the radioresource, and the mobility of the terminal.

It should be noted that, subsequent step 1050 to step 1080 are the sameas step 350 to step 380, and details are not described herein again.

The foregoing embodiment provided in the present invention is applied tomodel 1 with completely shared access resource information. The RANdetermines the second identifier information of the at least one networkslice based on the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice, and distinguishes different network slices by using thesecond identifier information of the at least one network slice, and theRAN notifies, by using an initial access response, the terminal of thefirst attribute information of the at least one network slice and thesecond identifier information of the at least one network slice, so thatthe terminal selects a to-be-accessed network slice.

Corresponding to the foregoing network slice selection methods in FIG. 3to FIG. 10 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a radioaccess device.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a radio access deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the radio access device may include an obtaining unit 1110, a sendingunit 1120, a receiving unit 1130, and a determining unit 1140.

The obtaining unit 1110 is configured to obtain network sliceinformation.

Optionally, the obtaining unit 1110 may obtain the network sliceinformation from a core network CN or operation, administration andmaintenance OAM.

The sending unit 1120 is configured to send a first message to aterminal, where the first message includes the network slice informationobtained by the obtaining unit 1110.

The receiving unit 1130 is configured to receive a first access requestmessage that is sent by the terminal after the terminal selects, basedon the network slice information, second attribute information of afirst network slice to be accessed by the terminal.

The determining unit 1140 is configured to determine, based on thesecond attribute information of the first network slice, a secondnetwork slice to be accessed by the terminal, where the first networkslice is the same as or different from the second network slice.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first attributeinformation of at least one network slice, before the sending unit 1120sends the first message to the terminal, the determining unit 1140 isfurther configured to determine dedicated access resource information ofeach network slice based on the first attribute information of the atleast one network slice.

The sending unit 1120 is specifically configured to send the firstmessage to the terminal, where the first message includes the firstattribute information of the at least one network slice and thededicated access resource information of each network slice.

The receiving unit 1130 is specifically configured to receive the firstaccess request message that is sent by the terminal after the terminalselects, based on the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice and the dedicated access resource information of eachnetwork slice, the second attribute information of the first networkslice to be accessed by the terminal.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first identifierinformation of at least one network slice, the sending unit 1120 isspecifically configured to send the first message to the terminal, wherethe first message includes the first identifier information of the atleast one network slice.

The receiving unit 1130 is specifically configured to receive the firstaccess request message that is sent by the terminal after the terminalselects the second attribute information of the first network slicebased on the first identifier information of the at least one networkslice, where the first access request message includes first identifierinformation of the first network slice.

Optionally, before the sending unit 1120 sends the first message to theterminal, the receiving unit 1130 is further configured to receive athird message sent by the terminal, where the third message includesindication information indicating that the terminal is to access theRAN.

The sending unit 1120 is further configured to send the first message tothe terminal based on the indication information.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first attributeinformation of at least one network slice, before the sending unit 1120sends the first message to the terminal, the determining unit 1140 isfurther configured to determine dedicated access resource information ofthe at least one network slice and common access resource information ofthe at least one network slice based on the first attribute informationof the at least one network slice.

The obtaining unit 1110 is further configured to perform preambleallocation on the network slice based on the common access resourceinformation of the network slice, to obtain information about a networkslice group that is obtained through grouping, common access resourceinformation of the network slice group, and a preamble corresponding tothe common access resource information of the network slice group.

The sending unit 1120 is further configured to send a fourth message tothe terminal, where the fourth message includes the common accessresource information of the network slice group, the information aboutthe network slice group, and the preamble corresponding to the commonaccess resource information of the network slice group.

The receiving unit 1130 is further configured to receive a fifth messagesent by the terminal, where the fifth message includes a preamble of anetwork slice group that is to be accessed by the terminal and that isselected by the terminal based on the common access resource informationof the network slice group, the information about the network slicegroup, and the preamble corresponding to the common access resourceinformation of the network slice group.

The determining unit 1140 is further configured to determine, based onthe preamble of the network slice group, the network slice groupselected by the terminal.

Then, the sending unit 1120 is specifically configured to send the firstmessage to the terminal based on the network slice group, where thefirst message includes dedicated access resource information of eachnetwork slice in the network slice group and second attributeinformation of each network slice in the network slice group.

The receiving unit 1130 is specifically configured to receive the firstaccess request message that is sent by the terminal after the terminalselects, based on the first attribute information of the at least onenetwork slice and the dedicated access resource information of eachnetwork slice, the second attribute information of the first networkslice to be accessed by the terminal and dedicated access resourceinformation of the first network slice.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first attributeinformation of at least one network slice, before the sending unit 1120sends the first message to the terminal, the determining unit 1140 isfurther configured to determine second identifier information of eachnetwork slice based on the first attribute information of the at leastone network slice.

The sending unit 1120 is specifically configured to send the firstmessage to the terminal, where the first message includes the secondidentifier information of each network slice.

The receiving unit 1130 is specifically configured to receive the firstaccess request message that is sent by the terminal after the terminalselects second identifier information of the first network slice basedon the second identifier information of the at least one network sliceand the first attribute information of the at least one network slice,where the first access request message includes the second identifierinformation of the first network slice.

Optionally, the determining unit 1140 is specifically configured to:when radio resource information of a network slice supported by the RANdoes not satisfy a service function supported by the second attributeinformation of the first network slice, the determining unit 1140instructs the sending unit 1120 to send an access request rejectionmessage to the terminal; or the determining unit 1140 selects, for theterminal, a second network slice with a service function the same asthat supported by the second attribute information of the first networkslice, where the first network slice is different from the secondnetwork slice.

When radio resource information of a network slice supported by the RANsatisfies a service function supported by the second attributeinformation of the first network slice, the determining unit 1140determines the second network slice to be accessed by the terminal,where the first network slice is the same as the second network slice.

Optionally, the first access request message further includes attributeinformation of the terminal.

The determining unit 1140 is specifically configured to: when theattribute information of the terminal does not satisfy a servicefunction supported by the second attribute information of the firstnetwork slice, the determining unit 1140 instructs the sending unit 1120to send an access request rejection message to the terminal; or thedetermining unit 1140 selects, for the terminal, a second network slicewith a service function the same as that supported by the secondattribute information of the first network slice, where the firstnetwork slice is different from the second network slice.

When the attribute information of the terminal satisfies a servicefunction supported by the attribute information of the first networkslice, the determining unit 1140 determines the second network slice tobe accessed by the terminal, where the first network slice is the sameas the second network slice.

Optionally, the sending unit 1120 is further configured to send a secondaccess request message to a CN, where the second access request messageincludes first attribute information of the second network slice that isto be accessed by the terminal and that is determined by the determiningunit 1140.

The receiving unit 1130 is further configured to receive a second accessresponse message that is sent by the CN based on second attributeinformation of the second network slice that is to be accessed by theterminal and that is determined by the determining unit 1140.

The sending unit 1120 sends a first access response message to theterminal, where the first access response message includes the firstattribute information of the second network slice that is to be accessedby the terminal and that is selected by the CN, so that the terminalaccesses the second network slice.

Functions of the units of the radio access device in this embodiment ofthe present invention may be implemented by corresponding steps in theforegoing embodiments of the network slice selection methods in FIG. 3to FIG. 10 . Therefore, a specific working process of the radio accessdevice provided in the present invention is not described herein again.

Corresponding to the foregoing network slice selection methods in FIG. 3to FIG. 10 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal.

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12 , the terminalmay include a receiving unit 1210, a selection unit 1220, and a sendingunit 1230.

The receiving unit 1210 is configured to receive a first message sent bya RAN, where the first message includes network slice informationobtained by the RAN.

The selection unit 1220 is configured to select, based on the networkslice information received by the receiving unit 1210, second attributeinformation of a to-be-accessed first network slice.

The sending unit 1230 is configured to send a first access requestmessage to the RAN based on the second attribute information of thefirst network slice selected by the selection unit 1220, so that the RANdetermines a second network slice to be accessed by the terminal, wherethe first network slice is the same as or different from the secondnetwork slice.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first attributeinformation of at least one network slice, the receiving unit 1210 isspecifically configured to receive, for the terminal, the first messagesent by the RAN, where the first message includes the first attributeinformation of the at least one network slice and dedicated accessresource information of each network slice that is determined by the RANbased on the first attribute information of the at least one networkslice.

The selection unit 1220 is specifically configured to select dedicatedaccess resource information of the to-be-accessed first network slicebased on the first attribute information of the at least one networkslice and the dedicated access resource information of each networkslice.

The sending unit 1230 is specifically configured to send the firstaccess request message to the RAN on a dedicated access resource of thefirst network slice based on the dedicated access resource informationof the first network slice.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first identifierinformation of at least one network slice, the receiving unit 1210 isspecifically configured to receive the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes the first identifier information of theat least one network slice.

The selection unit 1220 is specifically configured to select firstidentifier information of the to-be-accessed first network slice basedon the first identifier information of the at least one network slice.

The sending unit 1230 is specifically configured to send the firstaccess request message to the RAN based on the first identifierinformation of the first network slice, where the first access requestmessage includes the first identifier information of the first networkslice.

Optionally, before the receiving unit 1210 receives the first messagesent by the RAN, the sending unit 1230 is further configured to send asecond message to the RAN, where the second message includes indicationinformation indicating that the terminal is to access the RAN.

The receiving unit 1210 is further configured to receive the firstmessage that is sent by the RAN based on the indication information.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first attributeinformation of at least one network slice, before the receiving unit1210 receives the first message sent by the RAN, the receiving unit 1210is further configured to receive a third message sent by the RAN, wherethe third message includes common access resource information of the atleast one network slice and dedicated access resource information of theat least one network slice that are determined by the RAN based on thefirst attribute information of the at least one network slice, andinformation about a network slice group that is obtained throughgrouping, common access resource information of the network slice group,and a preamble corresponding to the common access resource informationof the network slice group that are obtained by the RAN by performingpreamble allocation on the network slice based on the common accessresource information of the network slice.

The selection unit 1220 is further configured to select a to-be-accessednetwork slice group based on the information about the network slicegroup, the common access resource information of the network slicegroup, and the preamble corresponding to the common access resourceinformation of the network slice group.

The sending unit 1230 is further configured to send a fourth message tothe RAN, where the fourth message includes a preamble of theto-be-accessed network slice group.

Then, the receiving unit 1210 is specifically configured to receive thefirst message that is sent by the RAN after the RAN determines thenetwork slice group based on the preamble of the network slice group,where the first message includes dedicated access resource informationof each network slice in the network slice group and attributeinformation of each network slice in the network slice group.

The selection unit 1220 is specifically configured to select dedicatedaccess resource information of the to-be-accessed first network slicebased on the dedicated access resource information of each network slicein the network slice group and the attribute information of each networkslice in the network slice group.

The sending unit 1230 is specifically configured to send the firstaccess request message to the RAN on a dedicated access resource of thefirst network slice based on the dedicated access resource informationof the first network slice.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first attributeinformation of at least one network slice, the receiving unit 1210 isspecifically configured to receive the first message sent by the RAN,where the first message includes second identifier information of the atleast one network slice that is determined by the RAN based on the firstattribute information of the at least one network slice.

The selection unit 1220 is specifically configured to select secondidentifier information of the to-be-accessed first network slice basedon the second identifier information of the at least one network slice.

The sending unit 1230 is specifically configured to send the firstaccess request message to the RAN based on the second identifierinformation of the first network slice, where the first access requestmessage includes the second identifier information of the first networkslice.

Optionally, when the network slice information includes first attributeinformation of at least one network slice, the selection unit 1220 isspecifically configured to select second attribute information of theto-be-accessed first network slice from the first attribute informationof the at least one network slice based on attribute information of theterminal.

Optionally, the receiving unit 1210 is further configured to receive afirst access response message that is sent by the RAN based on firstattribute information of the second network slice, where the firstaccess response message includes the first attribute information of thesecond network slice that is to be accessed by the terminal and that isselected by a core network CN, so that the terminal accesses the secondnetwork slice.

Functions of the units of the terminal in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented by corresponding steps in the foregoingembodiments of the network slice selection methods in FIG. 3 to FIG. 10. Therefore, a specific working process of the terminal provided in thepresent invention is not described herein again.

Corresponding to the foregoing network slice selection methods in FIG. 3to FIG. 10 , an embodiment of the present invention provides anotherradio access device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another radio access deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the radio access device may include a processor 1310, a transmitter1320, and a receiver 1330.

The processor 1310 and the transmitter 1320 are configured to supportinformation reception and transmission between the RAN and the terminalin the foregoing embodiment, and support radio communication between theterminal and another terminal. The processor 1310 executes variousfunctions for performing communication with the terminal. In uplink, anuplink signal from the terminal is received by the receiver 1330, and isfurther processed by the processor 1310 to restore service data andsignaling information sent by the terminal. In downlink, service dataand a signaling message are processed by the processor 1310, and aprocessed signal is sent to the terminal by using the transmitter 1320.

Specifically, the processor 1310 is configured to obtain network sliceinformation. The processor 1310 may obtain the network slice informationfrom a core network CN or operation, administration and maintenance OAM.

The transmitter 1320 is configured to send a first message to theterminal, where the first message includes the network sliceinformation.

The receiver 1330 is configured to receive a first access requestmessage that is sent by the terminal after the terminal selects, basedon the network slice information, first attribute information of a firstnetwork slice to be accessed by the terminal.

The processor 1310 is further configured to determine, based on thefirst attribute information of the first network slice, a second networkslice to be accessed by the terminal, where the first network slice isthe same as or different from the second network slice.

The radio access device may further include: a memory 1340, configuredto store program code and data of the radio access device, and acommunications unit 1350, where the communications unit 1350 isconfigured to support communication with another network entity, forexample, is configured to support communication between the radio accessdevice and a core network entity.

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14 , theterminal may include a receiver 1410, a processor 1420, and atransmitter 1430.

The transmitter 1430 may adjust an output sample and generate an uplinksignal, where the uplink signal is transmitted to the RAN in theforegoing embodiment by using the transmitter 1430. In downlink, thereceiver 1410 receives a downlink signal transmitted by the RAN in theforegoing embodiment. The receiver 1410 receives the signal and providesan input sample. The processor 1420 receives service data and asignaling message that are to be sent in uplink, and processes theservice data and the signaling message.

Specifically, the receiver 1410 is configured to receive a first messagesent by the RAN, where the first message includes network sliceinformation obtained by the RAN.

The processor 1420 is configured to select first attribute informationof a to-be-accessed first network slice based on the network sliceinformation received by the receiving unit.

The transmitter 1430 is configured to send a first access requestmessage to the RAN based on the first attribute information of the firstnetwork slice selected by the selection unit, so that the RAN determinesa second network slice to be accessed by the terminal, where the firstnetwork slice is the same as or different from the second network slice.

The terminal may further include a memory 1440, configured to storeprogram code and data of the terminal.

It should be noted that, the processor for performing the foregoingradio access device or terminal in the present invention may be acentral processing unit (CPU), a general purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (digital signal processing, DSP), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (application-specific integratedcircuit, ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (field-programmable gatearray, FPGA) or another programmable logic device, a transistor logicdevice, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processormay implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, andcircuits described with reference to content disclosed in the presentinvention. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination ofprocessors implementing a computing function, for example, a combinationof one or more microprocessors, or a combination of the DSP and amicroprocessor.

A person skilled in the art may be further aware that, in combinationwith the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in thisspecification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented byelectronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. Toclearly describe interchangeability between the hardware and thesoftware, the foregoing has generally described compositions and stepsof each example based on functions. Whether the functions are performedby hardware or software depends on particular applications and designconstraint conditions of the technical solutions. A person skilled inthe art may use different methods to implement the described functionsfor each particular application, but it should not be considered thatthe implementation goes beyond the scope of the present invention.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or some ofthe steps in each of the foregoing method of the embodiments may beimplemented by a program instructing a processor. The foregoing programmay be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The storage mediumis a non-transitory (non-transitory) medium, such as a random accessmemory, a read-only memory, a flash memory, a hard disk, a solid statedrive, a magnetic tape (magnetic tape), a floppy disk (floppy disk), anoptical disc (optical disc), or any combination thereof. The foregoingdescriptions are merely example embodiments of the present invention,but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the presentinvention. Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a personskilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the presentinvention shall fall within the protection scope of the presentinvention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present inventionshall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

1. A network slice selection method performed by a terminal, wherein thenetwork slice selection method comprises: receiving, from a radio accessnetwork (RAN), network slice information; determining, based on thenetwork slice information, second attribute information of a firstnetwork slice; and either: sending, to the RAN, a first access requestmessage, wherein the first access request message comprises the secondattribute information; or sending, on a dedicated access resource, thefirst access request message, wherein the dedicated access resource isfor accessing the first network slice.
 2. The network slice selectionmethod of claim 1, wherein the network slice information comprises firstattribute information of a network slice, and wherein the firstattribute information comprises: first identifier information of thenetwork slice; key service attribute information of the network slice;information about a service supported by the network slice;authorization information of the network slice; core network loadinformation of the network slice; or coverage information of the networkslice.
 3. The network slice selection method of claim 1, wherein thesecond attribute information comprises: identifier information of thefirst network slice; an indication of dedicated access resourceinformation; a preamble of the first network slice; a signal of thefirst network slice; or a sequence of the first network slice.
 4. Thenetwork slice selection method of claim 1, wherein the first accessrequest message comprises a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connectionrequest message or an RRC connection setup complete message.
 5. Thenetwork slice selection method of claim 1, wherein the network sliceinformation comprises first attribute information of a network slice,and wherein the first attribute information comprises third attributeinformation of the terminal.
 6. The network slice selection method ofclaim 1, wherein first attribute information is carried in a broadcastsystem message or an access response message.
 7. A computer programproduct comprising computer-executable instructions stored on anon-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by aprocessor, cause a terminal to: receive, from a radio access network(RAN), network slice information; determine, based on the network sliceinformation, second attribute information of a first network slice; andeither: send, to the RAN, a first access request message, wherein thefirst access request message comprises the second attribute information;or send, on a dedicated access resource, the first access requestmessage, wherein the dedicated access resource is used to access thefirst network slice.
 8. The computer program product of claim 7, whereinthe network slice information comprises first attribute information of anetwork slice, and wherein the first attribute information comprises:first identifier information of the network slice; key service attributeinformation of the network slice; information about a service supportedby the network slice; authorization information of the network slice;core network load information of the network slice; or coverageinformation of the network slice.
 9. The computer program product ofclaim 7, wherein the second attribute information comprises: identifierinformation of the first network slice; an indication of dedicatedaccess resource information; a preamble of the first network slice; asignal of the first network slice; or a sequence of the first networkslice.
 10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the firstaccess request message comprises a Radio Resource Control (RRC)connection request message or an RRC connection setup complete message.11. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the network sliceinformation comprises first attribute information of a network slice,and wherein the first attribute information comprises third attributeinformation of the terminal.
 12. The computer program product of claim7, wherein first attribute information is carried in a broadcast systemmessage or an access response message.
 13. A network slice selectionmethod performed by a radio access network (RAN), wherein the networkslice selection method comprises: sending, to a terminal, network sliceinformation; receiving, from the terminal, a first access requestmessage, wherein the first access request message comprises secondattribute information of a first network slice; and receiving, on adedicated access resource, the first access request message, wherein thededicated access resource is for accessing the first network slice. 14.The network slice selection method of claim 13, further comprisingreceiving, from a core network (CN) or an operation, administration, andmaintenance (OAM) device, the network slice information.
 15. The networkslice selection method of claim 13, wherein the network sliceinformation comprises first attribute information of a network slice,and wherein the first attribute information comprises: first identifierinformation of the network slice; key service attribute information ofthe network slice; information about a service supported by the networkslice; authorization information of the network slice; core network loadinformation of the network slice; or coverage information of the networkslice.
 16. The network slice selection method of claim 13, wherein thesecond attribute information comprises: identifier information of thefirst network slice; an indication of dedicated access resourceinformation; a preamble of the first network slice; a signal of thefirst network slice; or a sequence of the first network slice.
 17. Thenetwork slice selection method of claim 13, wherein the first accessrequest message comprises a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connectionrequest message or an RRC connection setup complete message.
 18. Thenetwork slice selection method of claim 13, wherein the network sliceinformation comprises first attribute information of a network slice,and wherein the first attribute information comprises third attributeinformation of the terminal.
 19. The network slice selection method ofclaim 13, wherein the first attribute information is carried in abroadcast system message.
 20. The network slice selection method ofclaim 13, wherein first attribute information is carried in an accessresponse message.